The following application is related to the fields of dispatching vehicles on the basis of location; monitoring the location of vehicles belonging to a group; and/or registering the workings of vehicles communicating information to a remotely located station.
Dispatch of services currently requires the use of several independent non-integrated platforms that contain data and applications necessary to coordinate the logistics of assistance services. One such assistance service that requires the use of a complex web of independent solutions is roadside assistance services.
Roadside assistance services have become popular services that are, in several instances, offered by or bundled with other products or service, for example, auto insurance, auto club memberships, or new vehicle factory warranties. Roadside assistance services can include breakdown assistance for motorists, tire replacement, towing, battery jump start, unlocking of doors and providing emergency fuel delivery.
In one explanatory scenario, a company dispatching a service would initiate a request for service receiving a client's call through a call center. A service coordinator in the call center will retrieve the call from a queue. After obtaining identification data from the client, the service representative will open an application, such as Salesforce CRM®, containing a database of the company's clients and the clients' information. Using this application, the service coordinator will be able to obtain the necessary client information to dispatch the service, such as automobile make, model, license plate, color, and insurance coverage.
The service coordinator needs to determine the optimal service provider to dispatch one that is available, nearby, and capable of providing the service required by the client. More likely than not, the only tool in the service coordinator's arsenal is a phone call to one or more of the service providing companies. Because it is industry practice to outsource the fulfillment of the services to third parties, the dispatching service company will not have its own service providers and all coordination needs to go through an intermediary, namely managers at the service provider companies. This will require the service coordinator to pull up another application containing the contact data and service capabilities of its service provider network.
However, most likely than not, service provider managers will not be able to provide the necessary detail as to the whereabouts and status of their own service providers. The decision of choosing the service provider then boils down to “guesstimates” by the service coordinator or service provider managers.
This process can be even more complex when the service provider companies have negotiated different fees and/or costs with the dispatch service company. In those cases, the service dispatching company will need to look up another database including costs and/or fees to be able to provide the client with any cost information for the service required and to properly account for the incurred cost in all services fulfilled. In some cases, where the cost and/or fees are determined by the distance traveled by the service provider, the dispatch service company will have to call the service provider after the service is complete to obtain the mileage information and manually input this information into their system for billing. Because this data is determined after the fact, the original quote for services rendered to the client may need to be revised.
Furthermore, in some cases a client's roadside assistance coverage may include only a certain amount and/or type of services. In those cases, a service coordinator will need to access another application to determine the coverage language and deductibles, exclusions and/or limitations for that particular client before providing the quote for services to the client.
In other circumstances, the person calling to request a service might not be a current client. The service coordinator might need to open a different application to obtain general and/or enrollment information from the new client.
In other instances, the service coordinator might wish to or need to offer a client to reenroll or upgrade its coverage, and might also need to open another application to complete the reenrollment or upgrade process.
Further, in some cases, road assistance service companies are risk bearing entities that need actuarial and statistical data and analysis to model the costs for the services and their offerings. Additionally, road assistance companies may be required by law to maintain financial reserves to account for the risk associated with the services.
In other instances, road assistance service companies, auto insurance, auto club, or car companies may need to audit car breakdown data or dispatched service data to determine loss ratio of the services or products offered. A platform that integrates all of the applications described above would support such needs.
Therefore, there is a need for a platform that allows efficient, fast, coordinated and automated dispatching of services.